Compensation for a delayed flight
If you reached your final destination 3 hours or more late, the airline owes you between €250 and €600 per passenger, on top of assistance at the airport.
When you are entitled
What counts is the delay on arrival, not on departure. You are owed compensation if the aircraft door opened at your final destination at least 3 hours after the scheduled time and:
- the flight departed from an airport in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland, with any airline;
- or the flight arrived in the EU from outside it, with an airline holding an EU licence;
- and the delay was not caused by extraordinary circumstances.
The rule comes from the EU Court of Justice rulings in Sturgeon (2009) and Nelson (2012), which gave delayed passengers the same rights as those whose flight was cancelled.
How much you get
| Flight distance | Compensation per passenger |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 |
| 1,500 to 3,500 km, or any flight within the EU over 1,500 km | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km, departing from or arriving outside the EU | €600 |
On flights over 3,500 km, if you arrived between 3 and 4 hours late, the airline may reduce the amount to €300. The ticket price does not matter: you get the same amount on a promotional fare.
Examples from Romanian airports
| Route (example) | Distance | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Bucharest – Budapest | 615 km | €250 |
| Bucharest – Rome Fiumicino | 1,162 km | €250 |
| Cluj-Napoca – London Luton | 1,823 km | €400 |
| Bucharest – Barcelona | 1,981 km | €400 |
| Bucharest – Dubai | 3,394 km | €400 |
| Bucharest – New York JFK, with a connection | 7,631 km | €600 |
The examples show the straight-line distance between airports, not the airline's current timetable. We work out the exact distance for your flight when you check it.
Reasons that do not take your rights away
Technical faults, missing crew, a strike by the airline's own staff or the aircraft arriving late from its previous flight are usually not extraordinary circumstances. Severe weather, airspace closures or an air traffic control strike can be. The reason given at the airport is not always the real one, so we check it against the flight data and the airline's reply.
Assistance at the airport
Separately from compensation, from 2 hours of waiting on short flights the airline owes you meals and drinks, and a hotel and transport if departure moves to the next day. Keep receipts for anything you paid yourself: those costs are recovered separately.
What documents you need
- your boarding pass or booking confirmation;
- an identity document, for the assignment agreement you sign online;
- if you have them, any messages from the airline about the delay or cancellation.
How long you have to claim
In Romania you can usually claim up to 3 years after the flight. Even if the flight was two years ago, it is worth checking.
How Jet Claim helps
Check your flight for free in two minutes and sign online. We handle the correspondence with the airline, the complaint to the authority and, if needed, court. Our fee is 25% + VAT of the amount recovered, deducted only if you get paid. Every situation is explained on the passenger rights page.
Frequently asked questions
My flight left 4 hours late but arrived only 2.5 hours late. Am I entitled?
Not to the fixed compensation. Only the delay on arrival counts, measured when the aircraft door opens. You were, however, entitled to assistance at the airport, and any costs you had then can be recovered.
The airline said it was a technical problem. Am I still entitled?
Usually, yes. The EU Court of Justice has ruled that technical faults found during maintenance or before departure are part of an airline's normal business and do not excuse it from paying (van der Lans ruling, 2015).
Can I claim for a flight from two years ago?
Yes. In Romania the time limit is usually 3 years from the date of the flight. All you need is the flight details and your booking.